793 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, record 1,275 patients discharged
The Ministry of Health identified five new clusters of infections. They are located at 80 Kaki Bukit Industrial Terrace, 48 Toh Guan Road East, 55 Tuas South Ave 1, 119 Tuas View Walk 1 and 33 Tuas View Walk 2.
SINGAPORE — Singapore has confirmed 793 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases here to 26,891.
Friday (May 15) also saw a record 1,275 patients being discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, higher than Thursday’s mark of 1,164, raising the total number of those who have fully recovered to 7,248.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) identified five new clusters of infections. They are located at 80 Kaki Bukit Industrial Terrace, 48 Toh Guan Road East, 55 Tuas South Ave 1, 119 Tuas View Walk 1 and 33 Tuas View Walk 2.
Of the 793 new infections, one was a case in the wider community. The patient — identified as Case 26,186 — is a 53-year-old Singaporean man who reported an onset of symptoms on May 12.
He was confirmed to have the Covid-19 infection on May 14 and was identified by the health ministry as a “local unlinked” case.
MOH said that the number of new cases in the community has decreased, from an average of eight cases a day in the week before, to an average of four a day in the past week.
It added that the number of unlinked cases in the community has also decreased, from an average of three cases a day in the week before, to an average of one a day in the past week.
One infection has been linked to a work permit holder residing outside the dormitories.
The remaining 791 cases were linked to the foreign workers staying in the dormitories.
MOH said that it continues to pick up many more cases among work permit holders residing in dormitories, including in factory-converted dormitories, because of extensive testing in these premises, as part of its process to verify and test the status of all workers.
There were no imported cases on Friday.
The health ministry said that of the new cases, 99 per cent are linked to known clusters, while the rest are pending contact tracing.
It added that it has been monitoring existing clusters for any further transmission.
“As there have been no more cases linked to McDonald’s and the renovation sites at the National University Hospital (5 Lower Kent Ridge Road) for the past two incubation periods, the clusters have now been closed,” MOH said.
UPDATE ON THE REST OF THE CASES
There are currently 1,124 confirmed cases who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and 18 patients are in critical condition under intensive care.
It added that 18,498 are isolated and cared for at community facilities. These are those who have mild symptoms, or are clinically well but still test positive for Covid-19.
Twenty-one people have died from complications due to Covid-19 infection.
